Anterior Cerebellar and Labyrinthine Arteries: A Study in the Cat

VASCULAR LESIONS affecting the vertebrobasilar artery system are of interest to the clinical otologist because they may produce symptoms which are identical to those of peripheral labyrinthine disease. Proctor1recently described ten cases of cerebrovascular disease, which first presented to the otolaryngologist because of tinnitus, dizziness, or hearing loss. Adams2reported a case of occlusion of the right anterior cerebellar artery in which sudden deafness of the right ear was a presenting symptom. It has been well documented that the blood supply to the membranous labyrinth of man and experimental animals originates from the anterior cerebellar artery in most cases or directly from the basilar artery in a lesser number of cases.3-8 The effect of occlusion of the vertebrobasilar artery system on the membranous labyrinth has never been reported in experimental animals. Furthermore, little attention has been directed to the exact course of the anterior cerebellar artery